Pit Stop
by nympsycho
Summary: The group finds time to stop and shower up during their ride on the rig. Slice of life one-shot. Nux/Capable but it's not the center of the story. I was curious how the women would react to seeing Nux unpainted. Wrote this for practice with dialogue, but it's just a cute little story.


**It just dawned on me that Nux didn't have two boots at this time. Oops, don't yell at me, haha.**

"Please, Furiosa," Toast pleaded from the back.

"There's sand in places I didn't even know there could be sand," Cheedo added, a course whine tainting her voice.

"We can't stop now," Furiosa commanded. "They're far behind us, but not that far behind."

The women groaned, save for Capable who napped, Nux's arm wrapped around her. Nux was awake, though, his eyes following the soft ebbing of Capable's chest as she slept. He wasn't paying attention.

"But it would be quick," Toast pressed. "Just a quick one. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"And what about the men?" Furiosa looked back at the girls now, the war machine still kicking up dust under its powerful wheels as it sped through the desert.

Toast looked towards Nux who made eye contact with her for a short moment. "What about them?"

"Where would they go? Just sit here and wait?"

"Why not?"

Furiosa turned back around, looking towards Max for a short moment before watching the road in front of her.

The women remained indignant, scoffing under their breath. They knew Furiosa only did what was best for them, what wouldn't sacrifice their mission, but they weren't pleased about it. It was silent now, Nux looking back down at Capable. He was amused by her red hair; it shone so nicely in the sun.

"We can take a stop in a few more miles," Furiosa finally granted. "Would you be okay with waiting? Maybe taking some inventory?" she alluded to Max whose name she didn't know.

He looked up with raised brows, his lips pursed. "'S fine."

Furiosa nodded, then looked back to Nux. "You?"

"I, I guess, yeah..." Nux nodded, trying to be quiet to not wake Capable. He was pleased that Furiosa cared for his input.

"The supplies are in the stowaway. There's not much, start rationing who gets what now," Furiosa accelerated quicker.

The Dag stretched her long legs, bent down in the cab of the rig, and opened the hatch door beneath them. She climbed down, trying to find the supplies that Furiosa spoke of. It was so hot down there, she was glad to be out. She opened a gray box, pleased at what she found, and returned to her comrades.

Toast asked for the box, the Dag giving it to her. She opened the box and pulled out a small bar of soap, no larger than her thumb. There were six of these. She passed the box, each girl taking a bar. There were a few rags in there, not enough for each of them to use their own. They decided they'd share.

"Wake her up," Toast asked Nux.

He sheepishly obliged, shaking his arm that Capable rested her head on. Her eyes dragged open, suddenly realizing where she was as if she thought it were a dream. She looked up at Nux in confusion, but smiled. He smiled back.

"We're cleaning up," Toast told Capable, who accepted the box that Toast handed to her. "There's enough soap for each of us to get the grime off." Capable inspected the other goodies in the box: some makeshift feminine products, some weird oil that Dag had insisted upon bringing, a small bottle of perfume that Cheedo had reached in and taken, and a hair brush.

"What about them?" Capable referred to Nux and Max.

"They'll wait and take inventory."

"Don't they want to get cleaned up?"

The thought admittedly hadn't crossed their minds, Furiosa looking at Max who kept his gaze forward.

"They can if they want to," Furiosa interjected.

Capable glanced at the quiet Nux, holding her bar of soap out to him, eyebrows raised. He shook his head.

"It's alright, you use that," he declined. He did want to clean up, but knew supplies were scarce.

"I can share, don't worry about that," Capable insisted. "If you want to, you can."

He peered at Furiosa, who made stoic eye contact with him. She nodded at him.

"Yeah, I, uh... yeah," Nux smiled with a breathy chuckle.

Max made no attempt to communicate either way. Furiosa knew that meant "no".

Capable broke the bar in half and handed half to Nux. He smiled at her and offered his thanks, appreciating her kindness. She'd always been the most compassionate to him, the quickest to trust him. It was refreshing, Nux thought.

The rig came to a slow stop about twenty minutes after, the girls climbing out of the rig and hopping into the sand, helping each other out one after another. Nux followed the girls, Furiosa opening the drivers' side door and climbing out. Max stepped out then, his hands busy with creating a map on a spare scrap of fabric.

"You stay on this side," Furiosa appointed the men, pointing her finger to the right side of the rig. The girls began to move to the left. "Stay here until we're dry and dressed." She went out of her way to make her gaze specifically harsh to Nux. He avoided it.

The men sat in the sand, the rig making a nice wall between them and the women. Max continued to dot the map with his blood, accurate from many years of wandering the wasteland. Nux twiddled his thumbs, his legs splayed out in front of him, his boots heavy. He thought they'd be taking inventory, but Furiosa gave him no orders.

The sound of splashing water met his ears. Nux's thirst was strong now, but he would wait. The water stopped in intervals; Furiosa was allowing each girl two minutes.

Nux jumped from the loud slap that came from above him, wet fabric hitting the hot steel exterior of the rig. He looked up to see Furiosa's arm holding the cheesecloth garments the girls had worn. Nux felt himself get hot, whether it was from the idea of a naked Capable or the unforgiving desert sun, he didn't know.

"Do us a favor and wring these out."

Nux mumbled affirmation, grabbing the garments and placing them on the rig's body. He stood now, wringing out the water from each stretch of fabric. He considered drinking it before he found the water was running brown. He'd let the water patter against the sand instead. After he wrung each wrap out, he laid it across the rig, letting the sun dry it. They'd be dry quick, the fabric thin and the sun beating.

"Ah, Toast, hey!" he heard Cheedo call. "You stepped on my toe!"

"Sorry, it was an accident."

"Yeah, alright, mind your space."

"Toast, I don't think we're in the right place to be saying that," Capable said now. Nux's chest fluttered at her voice. He pushed the thought of her nude out of his head, feeling guilty.

"Do you need help?" the Dag asked an unknown recipient.

"No, I'm fine, I've done this before," Furiosa answered.

Nux sat back down next to Max, eying his map. He squinted against the harsh rays of the sun.

"You wash that off, you'll burn," Max grumbled. Nux was surprised to hear him speak, especially unprovoked.

"Nah, I mean, yeah, but it's alright," Nux moved one leg close to his chest. "It's wearing off anyway, now."

Max made no more movement towards Nux.

The water didn't turn on again, each girl having their share. They had no towels to dry with, relying only on the sun. They shook their hair out, Capable remembering that there was a brush. She reached into the rig to retrieve it, running it through her hair. It snagged and pulled, but it was better than letting it friz. She braided it, French braids close to her scalp. It would keep the heat off of her skin, her hair out of the way.

"Where's my oil?" Dag's wispy voice called from the other side of the rig.

"Here," Cheedo answered, Dag thanking her.

"Does anyone want braids?" Capable offered.

"I think Furiosa does," Toast joked. The girls giggled, Furiosa's chuckle deeper compared to the rest.

Nux smiled at their conversations. They were so innocent, like friends at a sleepover instead of expats feeling from three armies of powerful, armed, blood-thirty warlords.

"Nux!" Furiosa called.

His head sprang up at his name. "Yeah?"

"Are the cloths dry yet?"

He scrambled to his feet, the sand unforgiving in traction. He hurried to avoid Furiosa's displeasure. He gripped the off-white cloths, testing for moisture.

"Yeah, they're dry," he called up. His voice cracked under the pressure of his head tilted up, and his thirst.

Furiosa was suddenly to their left. Nux hadn't expected her to come, but she was was dressed and coming towards the garments on the edge of the rig. She donned only her pants, boots, and her shirt, her robotic arm absent.

"We'll let you know when to come to this side, alright?" Furiosa held the dry cheesecloth in her hands.

Nux nodded. Furiosa stepped back, regarding Max on the ground. "Are you sure?"

Max looked up at her. He nodded, grunting once. She continued to the other side of the rig, leaving Nux and Max to make assuredly bountiful conversation.

"How did this go again?"

"You tie it like this," a pause. "See?"

"Ah, yeah, thanks. I'll braid your hair after we're dressed."

"Thanks."

Nux scanned the horizon, the desert sun glaring. Nothing to be seen, yet.

Capable appeared from the front of the rig, her hair in braids and darker due to the moisture. Her garments were a cleaner white, her face refreshed. She looked happier.

"You can go now," she grinned.

He simpered in return, approaching her. She was rejuvenated, gripping his arms gently. He liked when she touched him, she was soft and gentle.

"Now, Nux," Furiosa called , interrupting the moment he and Capable shared. He huffed, but exchanged a knowing glance with Capable. The rest of the girls joined her on the right side of the rig as Nux moved towards the water faucet.

"Give me your pants," Capable exclaimed from behind him. He blushed at the thought, shuffling out of them. He knew they wouldn't dry easily like the cheesecloth, so he reached around the rig with them dry. He kept his boots with him.

She noticed his flailing arm holding his pants. The girls giggled.

"Think we can sneak a peek?"

"Does he have underwear?"

"How big, do you think?"

"Who knows, ask Capable."

Capable glared at the joking women as she grabbed Nux's pants. Chastising them as she returned to them, she sat with the rest of them in the sand. She took a rag and, with the remaining moisture, ran it along the black fabric. It was tough and covered with sand and clay.

Nux turned on the water, cupping it in his hands and running it over his head first. He rubbed the soap over his body, his face, his chest. It felt good, feeling the white war clay run gray as the sand absorbed it. He cleaned what was important, and with a short rinse, he turned off the water. He squeezed the remaining water off his body with his hands, shaking his head and feeling the sun already drying him.

"He's still kinda scary, huh?"

"Not really. Have you seen how he looks at Capable?

"Shut up," Capable giggled.

"No murderous maniac stares at a girl like that."

"He's just a kid after all."

"How do you think he got the scars?"

"War Boys do it to themselves."

"Yeah, but, did he do it himself? Because that thing on his chest is pretty intricate."

"I'm sure he had help."

Nux listened intently, able to hear them despite their hushed tones. He smiled. There was so much they didn't know. Living in a vault didn't help.

"You done, Nux?" Capable shouted to him.

"Yeah, I'm done."

"Do you want your pants now?"

"Yeah."

She walked to the front of the rig, holding his pants out in the same way he did for her. He noticed they'd been cleaned. "Thank you," he grabbed them.

"I did my face myself," he said to her without seeing her. "My chest was with some help. It's a V8 engine."

Capable hummed in understanding, embarrassed that he had heard them.

Nux slugged on his pants, his boots after. The clean feeling was dampened by putting on dirty clothes, but he appreciated the lack of clay on his skin.

Rejoining the girls, they met him with wide eyes. Furiosa was absent, Max still sitting against the rig, looking up to Nux and back down again. The Dag's mouth lay lax. Their wet hair stuck to their skin, opposite to the way it would flow with the whipping of the wind.

"What?" he kept walking towards them. He felt self conscious under their gaze.

"It's weird to see you not... white," Capable explained.

Nux laughed the breathy chuckle he had. "Believe it or not, I have skin just like the rest of you."

The girls looked away now, Capable placing her hand on his chest, feeling his scars.

"We know, and that's why it's so strange."

Capable ran her hand over the raised lines on his chest, feeling it rise and fall with his breath.

"Do War Boys always wear the paint?" Cheedo asked.

"No, we wash it off once a week when we shave our heads."

"I thought you were all just," the Dag ran her hand over her hair, "like that."

Nux chuckled. "No, we shave it."

"What color is your natural hair?" Capable asked.

Nux looked down. "I don't know. I've been shaving it as long as I can remember."

"We'll have to find out," she comforted. Nux smiled slightly, the thought of his hair growing foreign. It felt strange to remove the clay not in the bunks of the Citadel. It would be odd to not shave it at the first sign of growth.

The group climbed back in the rig, Furiosa back at the wheel. She had to admit she felt better after their pit stop as well. However, they lost precious time. They needed to go, and now.

The rig jumped to life, sand kicking under the tires as it took off, covering the small puddle of water that had already begun to evaporate.


End file.
